Sexual Reproduction in Animals and Plants
This book contains the proceedings of the International Symposium on the Mechanisms of Sexual Reproduction in Animals and Plants, where many plant and animal reproductive biologists gathered to discuss their recent progress in investigating the shared mechanisms and factors involved in sexual reproduction. This now is the first book that reviews recent progress in almost all fields of plant and animal fertilization. It was recently reported that the self-sterile mechanism of a hermaphroditic marine invertebrate (ascidian) is very similar to the self-incompatibility system in flowering plants. It was also found that a male factor expressed in the sperm cells of flowering plants is involved in gamete fusion not only of plants but also of animals and parasites. These discoveries have led to the consideration that the core mechanisms or factors involved in sexual reproduction may be shared by animals, plants and unicellular organisms.
Service Quality Regulation in Electricity Distribution and Retail
Service Quality Regulation in Electricity Distribution and Retail provides a guide for regulatory authorities and postgraduate students alike, accompanying readers through the necessary steps for designing and implementing regulatory policy. It builds a bridge between the theoretical aspects of service quality regulation and country-specific applied mechanisms. The book offers examples as provided by regulatory authorities (including some not often available in the English language), and suggests best practices as elaborated by a number of international regulatory organizations.
Serotonin and Sleep : Molecular, Functional and Clinical Aspects
Serotonin and Sleep: Molecular, Functional, and Clinical Aspects covers the complete spectrum of the field and explores the link between the latest basic molecular, functional, and clinical aspects of serotonin and the practice of sleep medicine. The volume focuses on 24 different areas of research, with special emphasis relating the state of basic and clinical research to potential applications: changing concepts in serotonin research, topographic organization and chemoarchitecture, receptor mechanisms – its organization and regulation of behavioral states, electrophysiological mechanisms – in vitro, in vivo, and behaving animals and other areas of molecular neurobiology. Also highlighted are studies related to the circadian control of behavioral states, and mechanisms involved in the serotonergic inhibition of REM sleep. Such discussion has profound implications for the basic biology of serotonin.
Serial Murder and the Psychology of Violent Crimes
The phenomena of serial violent crime has long plagued human civilizations. Far from being a contemporary notion unique to Western societies, serial murderers and other offenders who repeatedly engage in violent crimes such as rape or arson are examples of extreme criminal aberrations that exist in cultures around the world. This book assembles the collective expertise of an international group of scholars and practitioners who seek to explain the psychiatric, psychological and criminological factors that may account for the perpetration of these abhorrent crimes. The topics covered in this text examine the motivational dynamics of offenders including such dimensions as their apparent behavioral normalcy, sensational interests, sadism, narcissism, commonalties, gender and age patterns. Beyond psychological and etiological factors the topics encompassed by this book also consider investigative techniques, procedures, limitations and failures encountered with these forms of crime.
Sensitization of Cancer Cells for Chemo/immuno/Radio-therapy
Sensitization of Cancer Cells for Chemo/Immuno/Radio-therapy, edited by Benjamin Bonavida, reviews novel approaches developed to reverse tumor cell resistance to chemo/immuno/radio-therapy and the use of various sensitizing agents in combination with various cytotoxics. Such sensitizing agents target gene products that regulate resistance and therefore identify novel targets for drug development. This book also introduces several of the current approaches that have been developed by established investigators in the field that are aimed at overcoming resistance. This book is the first that compiles studies on tumor cell sensitization and is useful for students, scientists, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies.
Sensing with Ion Channels
All living cells are able to detect and translate environmental stimuli into biologically meaningful signals. Sensations of touch, hearing, sight, taste, smell or pain are essential to the survival of all living organisms. The importance of sensory input for the existence of life thus justifies the effort made to understand its molecular origins. Sensing with Ion Channels focuses on ion channels as key molecules enabling biological systems to sense and process the physical and chemical stimuli that act upon cells in their living environment. Its aim is to serve as a reference to ion channel specialists and as a source of new information to non specialists who want to learn about the structural and functional diversity of ion channels and their role in sensory physiology.
Semaphorins : Receptor and Intracellular Signaling Mechanisms
This book details our progress in understanding the receptor and intracellular signaling mechanisms utilized by semaphorins. The comprehensive overview of semaphorin biology and signaling presented in this book allows one to compare semaphorin functions between different biological systems.
Semantic Web for Effective Healthcare Systems
Summarizes the trends and current research advances in web semantics, delineating the existing tools, techniques, methodologies, and research solutions. Analyzes the current status on how the semantic web is used to solve health data integration and interoperability problems, and how it provides advanced data linking capabilities that can improve search and retrieval of medical data. Chapters analyze the tools and approaches to semantic health data analysis and knowledge discovery. The book discusses the role of semantic technologies in extracting and transforming healthcare data before storing it in repositories. It also discusses different approaches for integrating heterogeneous healthcare data. This book offers: The first of its kind and highlights only the ontology driven information retrieval mechanisms and techniques being applied to healthcare as well as clinical information systems ; Presents a comprehensive examination of the emerging research in areas of the semantic web ; Discusses studies on new research areas including ontological engineering, semantic annotation and semantic sentiment analysis ; Helps readers understand key concepts in semantic web applications for the biomedical engineering and healthcare fields ; Includes coverage of key application areas of the semantic web.
Self-Organized Nanoscale Materials
This book comprises an overview of a wide variety of different approaches towards the synthesis of nanoscale materials and the hierarchical assemblies produced from them under the common theme of self-organization mechanisms via chemical and bio-inspired methods. The book covers many of the exciting and recent developments from basic research to applications in the field of self-assembly of nanostructures that are of general interest to a broad community of established and postgraduate researchers in physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and materials science.
Self-Incompatibility in Flowering Plants : Evolution, Diversity, and Mechanisms
Great progress has been made in our understanding of pollen-pistil interactions and self-incompatibility (SI) in flowering plants in the last few decades. This book covers a broad spectrum of research into SI, with accounts by internationally renowned scientists. It comprises two sections: Evolution and Population Genetics of SI / Molecular and Cell Biology of SI Systems / The reader will gain an insight into the diversity and complexity of these polymorphic cell-cell recognition and rejection systems. Heteromorphic and homomorphic SI systems and our current understanding of the evolution and phylogeny of these systems, based on the most recent molecular sequence data, are covered. Further, the book presents major advances in our knowledge of the pistil and pollen S-determinants and other unlinked components involved in SI, as well as the apparently diverse cellular regulatory mechanisms utilised to ensure inhibition of "self" pollen.
Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators : A New Brand of Multitarget Drugs
The concept of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) has emerged recently in modern medicine. Two main features, the evidence of the wide expression of estrogen receptors in organs and systems and the growing information on the determinants of estrogen action, have allowed the envisioning of compounds with "a la carte" estrogenic profiles. The availability of substances performing as agonists wherever the estrogenic action is beneficial and as antagonists where it is not, is becoming less of a dream than of a closer reality. This book is an up-to-date review of the principal basic mechanisms and the clinical data integrating the actual current knowledge on SERMs
Selective autophagy : Methods and protocols
Presents the latest techniques used by researchers to study selective autophagy in a broad range of organisms such as yeast, plants, worms, fruit flies, and mammals. The chapters in this book cover several types of selective autophagy such as mitophagy, aggrephagy, ER-phagy, ferritinophagy, pexophagy, and nucleophagy. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Selected Preserver Problems on Algebraic Structures of Linear Operators and on Function Spaces
Over the past several decades, the territory of preserver problems has been continuously enlarging within the frame of linear analysis. The aim of this work is to present a sort of cross-section of the modern theory of preservers on infinite dimensional spaces (operator spaces and function spaces) through the author's corresponding results. Special emphasis is put on preserver problems concerning some structures of Hilbert space operators which appear in quantum mechanics. Moreover, local automorphisms and local isometries of operator algebras and function algebras are discussed in details.
Security for Telecommunications Networks
Telecommunications networks are a critical component of the economic and social infrastructures in which we live. Each day, well over three billion people across the globe rely upon these systems, as their primary means of connecting to the world around them. It creates a starting place for new researchers in the field of secure telecommunications networks. This volume not only discusses emerging threats, along with system vulnerability, but also presents the open questions posited by network evolution and defense mechanisms. This is one of the first books to discuss securing current and next generation telecommunications networks by the security community.
Secure Systems Development with UML
Attacks against computer systems can cause considerable economic or physical damage. High-quality development of security-critical systems is difficult, mainly because of the conflict between development costs and verifiable correctness. Jürjens presents the UML extension UMLsec for secure systems development. It uses the standard UML extension mechanisms, and can be employed to evaluate UML specifications for vulnerabilities using a formal semantics of a simplified fragment of UML. Established rules of security engineering can be encapsulated and hence made available even to developers who are not specialists in security. As one example, Jürjens uncovers a flaw in the Common Electronic Purse Specification, and proposes and verifies a correction. With a clear separation between the general description of his approach and its mathematical foundations, the book is ideally suited both for researchers and graduate students in UML or formal methods and security, and for advanced professionals writing critical applications.
Secondary Metabolites in Soil Ecology
Secondary Metabolites in Soil Ecology focuses on the role of bacterial, fungal and plant secondary metabolites in soil ecosystems. Our understanding of the biological function of secondary metabolites is surprisingly limited, considering our knowledge of their structural diversity and pharmaceutically relevant activities. This volume reviews functional aspects of secondary metabolite production, with a focus on interactions among soil organisms. Topics such as truffle metabolites and burnt phenomenon, ecology of mycotoxins in soil, root exudates, and chemical interactions between Streptomyces and mycorrhiza fungi are treated. Further aspects are the role of microbial metabolites as quorum sensing signals, their role in protecting plants against pathogens and the effect of volatiles on soil invertebrates. Chapters describing techniques for the detection of antibiotics in soil and the application of metabolomics to rhizosphere research, which has advanced rapidly in recent years, complement the book.
Script Effects as the Hidden Drive of the Mind, Cognition, and Culture
This book reveals the hidden power of the script we read in and how it shapes and drives our minds, ways of thinking, and cultures. Expanding on the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis (i.e., the idea that language affects the way we think), this volume proposes the “Script Relativity Hypothesis” (i.e., the idea that the script in which we read affects the way we think) by offering a unique perspective on the effect of script (alphabets, morphosyllabaries, or multi-scripts) on our attention, perception, and problem-solving
Schistosomiasis
A Goal of this volume is to initiate conversations among those working across the research-to-control spectrum on schistosomiasis about the future of their field, and by doing so lead to constructive efforts to identify and address the most critical questions and challenges related to schistosomiasis. The book covers four main areas: schistosome phylogenetics, gene expression, and the overall genome, including information on exciting new tools for addressing questions that have long been inaccessible to schistosomologists; the host-schistosome interaction at the larval to adult worm interface and addresses aspects important for vaccine development as well as how differential gene expression as detected by DNA microarrays may be utilized to develop tools for detection and control of infection or pathology; the development of the host immune response to eggs, granuloma formation and factors affecting the development and regulation of immunopathology; and the public health concerns associated with schistosomiasis, including morbidity control, host genetics, treatment and proposals for improved partnerships. The volume concludes with a chapter addressing the schisms that sometimes exist along the spectrum from basic research programs to the implementation of control schemes, and a proposal to make these differences benefit patients and researchers rather than succumb to base temptations to compete for resources to no one’s benefit. Like many of the diseases featured in the World Class Parasites series, the prospects for dramatic advances in schistosomiasis coincide with a seemingly shrinking pool of both human and material resources. The most meaningful progress will occur as the laboratory better understands the needs in the field and the field better understands the capabilities of the laboratory.
Scaling and Uncertainty Analysis in Ecology : Methods and Applications
Draws together a series of important case studies to provide a comprehensive review and synthesis of the most recent concepts, theories and methods in scaling and uncertainty analysis. It compares current definitions and ideas concerning scale within a coherent framework, and examines two key scaling approaches: similarity-based scaling, which is rooted in the idea of similitude or self-similarity; and dynamic model-based scaling, which emphasizes processes and mechanisms.
Satellite Events at the MoDELS 2005 Conference ; MoDELS 2005 International Workshop OCLWS, MoDeVA, MARTES, AOM, MTiP, WiSME, MODAUI, Nfc, MDD, WUsCaM, Montego Bay, Jamaica, October 2-7, 2005, Revised Selected Papers
This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of 10 internationl workshops held as satellite events of the 8th International Conference on Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems, MoDELS 2005, in Montego Bay, Jamaica in October 2005 (see LNCS 3713). The 30 revised full papers were carefully selected for inclusion in the book and are presented along with an educators's and a doctorial symposium section comprising additional 13 short articles. The papers are organized in topical sections representing the various workshops: tool support for OCL and related formalisms, model design and validation (MoDeVA), modeling and analysis of real-time and embedded systems (MARTES), aspect oriented modeling (AOM), model transformations in practice (MTiP), software model engineer...



















